ST. LOUIS – WGU Missouri announced the availability of two new resources as part of its Responsible Borrowing Initiative (RBI), an education program aimed at ensuring that students borrow only what they need. The resources include free access to Financial Avenue, which provides an array of money management courses and other relevant personal finance tools, and Scholarship Universe, a comprehensive scholarship-matching engine offering easy access to thousands of external scholarship opportunities.

“We pride ourselves on the support we give our students in making informed decisions and borrowing wisely,” said Dr. Angie Besendorfer, Chancellor of WGU Missouri. “Since 2013, when WGU implemented the RBI program, the average student loan debt has been reduced by 40 percent. The average debt at graduation is about $15,000 – less than half the national average. The resources available through the RBI program are making a difference, and we are delighted to be able to add to our financial-literacy toolbox.”

Through Financial Avenue’s online financial education program, students are provided with the knowledge and tools to become financially capable through the delivery of dynamic and interactive content. The program gives students a solid foundation in money management and is offered in multiple platforms, including videos and quizzes, allowing students to learn in their preferred format. Students also gain access to an action plan and additional tools at the end of each course to help them implement the practices they learned. The addition of Financial Avenue is made possible through a partnership with Inceptia.

Scholarship Universe is a newly launched portal that serves as a one-stop shop for external scholarship listings. WGU launched the comprehensive scholarship-matching engine in partnership with CampusLogic. Scholarship Universe provides access to nearly 10,000 vetted, external scholarships and simplifies the application process by requiring students to create only one profile in order to apply for as many external scholarships as they qualify for, while also assuring them that the offerings are legitimate.

WGU Missouri is an online, nonprofit university offering affordable, flat-rate tuition of about $3,500 per six-month term. The university uses a competency-based education model that allows students to move quickly through material they already know so they can focus on what they still need to learn. On average, it takes less than three years for WGU Missouri students to complete a bachelor’s degree, often while working full time and raising families. Graduates also report an average increase in salary of $19,100 within 4 years of graduation, compared to an average of $6,700 nationally. To learn more about WGU Missouri and its RBI program, visit Missouri.wgu.edu.

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